Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Colt, which operates a next-generation network in Europe, agreed to acquire KVH, its counterpart in Asia-Pacific,for ¥18.595 billion (EUR 130.3 million) in cash. KVH is currently owned by FMR, FIL and associates.

Colt, which was founded in London in 1992 with funds provided by Fidelity Investments, has grown into a pan-European operator with a network spanning 47,000 kms. It operates metro networks in 42 European networks with direct fiber connections into 20,000 buildings. Colt has a city-based expansion strategy, targeting customers operating in information
intensive industries.

KVH, which was also founded by Fidelity Investments, is present in Tokyo, the world’s number one city economy, as well as Singapore, Hong Kong and Seoul; providing a platform in four of Colt’s target cities for expansion. KVH operates data centers across Asia, a global low latency network and metro networks in Tokyo and Osaka. Its managed IT and cloud solutions were developed by Colt. KVH has around 2,000 enterprise and wholesale customers. In revenue terms KVH is roughly 10% the size of Colt.

“I am pleased to announce our plan to acquire KVH. It is a growing business, largely focused on network and data centres in Asia. They have strong capabilities, a significant customer base and great assets, all complementary to our own. This partnership will enable Colt to offer our customers seamless solutions on a global basis and give us a solid platform for growth in Asia,” stated Rakesh Bhasin, Colt's Chief Executive Officer.